1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to suspension systems for shock absorption. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods for manufacturing a disk drive suspension, the disk drive suspension employing an offset limiter.
2. Related Art
A disk drive suspension, present in a disk drive head suspension assembly, comprises a load beam and a flexure. The flexure is a single-piece substantially planar component when manufactured. The flexure comprises a U-shaped limiter. The U-shaped limiter includes a distal end. The load beam includes one or more tongues extending in a substantially longitudinal direction. The U-shaped limiter is bent at about 90 degrees to the flexure plane to deploy the distal end in a position such that the distal end of the bent U-shaped limiter and a tongue on the load beam engage, in conditions of shock, to prevent any damage to the disk drive suspension assembly.
Under the condition of no load, engaged distance (the horizontal distance between an extreme end of the tongue, and the line of engagement of the tongue with the distal end of the U-shaped limiter, in conditions of shock) and limiter height (the vertical distance between the tongue and the surface of the distal end of the bent U-shaped limiter, under no-load condition) should be configured at appropriate values for the optimum performance of the disk drive suspension. Typically, the values for the engaged distance and the limiter height are 0.004 inches and 0.002 inches, respectively.
In the current state of art, during the process of manufacturing a disk drive suspension, the U-shaped limiter is bent before coupling the load beam and the flexure. The load beam and the flexure require adjustment before the coupling, to configure the engaged distance and the limiter height at required values. This adjustment increases the time required for the coupling and decreases the overall productivity of the manufacturing process, and therefore, the units per hour (UPH) of the disk drive suspensions manufactured are less. Further, if the U-shaped limiter is bent after the coupling of the load beam and the flexure, it is not possible to maintain the engaged distance and the limiter height at appropriate values required for the optimum performance of the disk drive suspensions.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need for a method for manufacturing a disk drive suspension system, which minimizes the time consumed in the adjustments of the components and increases the overall productivity.